1. TSSM’s
Bhivarabai Sawant College of Engineering and Research Narhe,
Pune-41.
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
S.E. – Mechanical Engineering
MAJOR DHYAN CHAND
By
1) Mangesh Kate ( SM-44)
2) Saiprasad Kale (SM-42)
Under Guidance
of
Prof. Hirmukhe Sir
(Assistant Professor)
(2014-15)
4. Major Dhyan Chand was born on 29August 1905 in Prayag,
now Allahabad, in a Rajput family. He was the elder brother of
fellow player Roop Singh. His father Sameshwar Dutt Singh
was in the Indian Army, and he played hockey in the army.
Major Dhyan Chand had two brothers - Mool Singh and Roop
Singh. Because of Sameshwar Dutt's numerous army
transfers, the family had to move to different cities and as such
Major Dhyan Chand had to terminate his education after only
six years of schooling. The family finally settled inJhansi, Uttar
Pradesh, India. Being in the military, Dhyan's father got a small
piece of land for a house.
Young Major Dhyan Chand had no serious inclination towards
sports, though he loved wrestling. He stated that he did not
remember whether he played any hockey worth mentioning
before he joined the Army.
5. Major Dhyan Chand was an Indian field
hockey player who is considered to be one of the
greatest players of all time. He is most
remembered for his goal-scoring feats and for his
three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936)
in field hockey, during an era where India was
dominant in the sport.
Known as “The Wizard” for his superb ball control,
He played his final international match in 1948,
having scored more than 400 goals during his
international career
6. Major Dhyan Chand joined the Indian Army at the
age of 16, The Hindi word Chand literally means the
moon. Since Dhyan Singh used to practice a lot
during night after his duty hours, he invariably used
to wait for the moon to come out so that the visibility
in the field (during his era there were no flood lights)
improved. Hence he was called "Chand", by his
fellow players, as his practice sessions at night
invariably coincided with the coming out from the
moon.
7. Between 1922 and 1926, Major Dhyan Chand
exclusively played army hockey tournaments and
regimental games. Major Dhyan Chand was ultimately
selected for the Indian Army team which was to tour
New Zealand. The team won 18 matches, drew 2 and
lost only 1, receiving praise from all spectators.
Following this, in the two Test matches against the
New Zealand squad, the team won the first and
narrowly lost the second. Returning to India, Major
Dhyan Chand was immediately promoted to Lance
Naik.
8. After successfully lobbying for reintroducing field
hockey in the Olympics, the newly formed Indian
Hockey Federation (IHF) made preparations to send
its best possible team for the 1928 Amsterdam
Olympics. In 1925, an Inter-Provincial Tournament was
held to select India's national field hockey team. Five
teams participated in the inaugural nationals - United
Provinces (UP), Punjab, Bengal, Rajputana and Centra
l Provinces. Major Dhyan Chand got permission from
the Army to play for the United Provinces team.
9. In its first game in the tournament. Major Dhyan
Chand attracted much attention by his clever
stickwork. His penetrating runs and judicious passes
seemed to assure for him a position in the team that is
to take part in the Olympic Games.
Quite early in the game, it became evident that Major
Dhyan Chand was again at his best.Quick as lightning,
Major Dhyan Chand shot a goal. The ball struck one of
the defenders' stick and went into the net, giving
goalkeeper Collie no chance. A goal within 3 minutes
of the start was more than what the most optimistic of
the UP supporters could expect. At the interval, UP led
by three goals to nil
10.
11. In the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics, the
Indian team was put in the division A table, with
Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland . On
May 17 the Indian national hockey team made its
Olympic debut against Austria, winning 6-0, with
Major Dhyan Chand scoring 3 goals. The next day
India defeated Belgium 9-0; however Major Dhyan
Chand only scored once. On May 20, Denmark lost
to India 5-0, with Major Dhyan Chand netting 3.
Two days later, he scored 4 goals when India
defeated Switzerland 6-0 in the semi-finals.
12. The final match took place on May 26, with India
facing the home team of the Netherlands. The Indian
team's better playersFeroze Khan, Ali Shaukat and
Kher Singh were on the sick list and Major Dhyan
Chand himself was ill. However, even with a skeletal
side, India managed to defeat the hosts 3-0 (with
Singh scoring 2), and the Indian team won its
country's first Olympic gold medal. Keeper Richard
Allen created a unique record of not conceding a single
goal. Major Dhyan Chand was the top scorer of the
tournament by a large margin, scoring 14 goals in 5
matches.
13. The India team set sail for San Francisco on May 30, and
arrived on June 6. They reached Los Angeles three weeks
before the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which took
place on July 30. On August 4, 1932, India played its first
match againstJapan and won 11-1. Major Dhyan Chand, Roop
Singh, Gurmit Singh each scored thrice, and Dickie Carr once.
In the final on August 11, India played against hosts USA.
India won 24-1, a world record at that time, and once again
clinched the gold medal. Major Dhyan Chand scored 8 times,
Roop Singh 10, Gurmit Singh 5 and Pinniger once. In fact,
Major Dhyan Chand along with his brother Roop, scored 25
out of the 35 goals scored by India. This led to them being
dubbed the 'hockey twins'.
14.
15. In December 1934, the IHF decided to send a team to
New Zealand in the new year. Major Dhyan Chand and
his brother were immediately selected. When the
Nawab of Manavadar declined to play, Major Dhyan
Chand was appointed captain. In the subsequent tour,
the team played a total of 48 matches on this tour,
with 28 in New Zealand and the remaining in India,
Ceylon and Australia. India won every match, scoring
584 goals and conceding only 40. Of these 48 matches,
Major Dhyan Chand played 43 and scored a total of 201
goals.
16. In 1933, Chand's home team, the Jhansi Heroes participated
in and won theBeighton Cup, which he considered the most
prestigious of Indian hockey tournaments. Later, he would
state.
“If anybody asked me which was the best match that I played
in, I will unhesitatingly say that it was the 1933 Beighton Cup
final between Calcutta Customs and Jhansi Heroes. Calcutta
Customs was a great side those days; they had Shaukat Ali,
Asad Ali, Claude Deefholts, Seaman, Mohsin, and many
others who were then in the first flight of Indian hockey.
I had a very young side. Besides my brother Roop Singh, and
Ismail. I had no other really great player in the team. But I had
a team which was determined to do or die. It was a great
match, full of thrills, and it was just opportunity that gave us
the victory. Customs were pressing hard and our goal was at
their mercy. Suddenly I broke through and from midfield gave
a long through pass to Ismail, who ran with Jesse Owens'
speed half the length of the ground. A misunderstanding
occurred between the Customs left-half and the goalkeeper,
and Ismail, taking every advantage of it, cut through and
netted the only goal of the match”.
17. In 1956, at the age of 51, he retired from the army with the rank
of Major. The Government of India honored him the same year by
conferring him the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian
honour).
After retirement, he taught at coaching camps at Mount
Abu, Rajasthan. Later, he accepted the position of Chief Hockey
Coach at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, a post he held for
several years. Major Dhyan Chand spent his last days in his
hometown of Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Dhyan Major Dhyan Chand died on December 3, 1979 at the All
India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi. He was cremated at
theJhansi Heroes ground in his hometown, after some initial
problems in getting clearance. His regiment, the Punjab Regiment,
accorded him full military honours
18. There have been many media reports over the
years claiming that Major Dhyan Chand scored 6
goals in India's 8-1 victory over Germany in the 1936
Olympic final. However, Major Dhyan Chand in his
autobiography titled “Goal!” published in 1952 by Sport &
Pastime, Chennai, writes as follows:
“When Germany was four goals down, a ball hit Allen's pad
and rebounded. The Germans took full advantage of this
and made a rush, netting the ball before we could stop it.
That was the only goal Germany would score in the match
against our eight, and incidentally the only goal scored
against India in the entire Olympic tournament. India's goal-getters
were Roop Singh, Tapsell and Jaffar with one each,
Dara two and Major Dhyan Chand three.”
19. Even today,Major Dhyan Chand remains a legendary figure in
Indian and world hockey. A number of such legends revolve
around the fact that Singh had a magical control over dribbling
the ball.
August 29, Chand's birthday, is celebrated as National Sports
Day in India. The President gives away sport-related awards
such as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna
Award andDronacharya Award on this day at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan, India.
The H K Sethi [Secretary General of Journalists Federation of
India]& Rajeev Shukla [Union Minister of India] gives away
20th National Award 2012, namelyGem of India, to the
magician of hockey i.e. Major Dhyan Chand, award was
received by his son Ashok (hockey Olympian himself)on
behalf of his late Hon'ble father, award was given by Journalist
Association of India under the flagship of Journalists
Federation of India, Sirifort Auditorium, New Delhi, India, on
22nd September, 2012.
20. India's highest award for lifetime
in sports is theMajor Dhyan Chand
Award which has been awarded annually
from 2002 to sporting figures
who not only contribute through their
performance but also contribute to the
sport after their retirement.
The National Stadium, Delhi was
renamed Major Dhyan Chand National
Stadium in 2002 in his honour.
He scored over 1000 goals in his career, from
1926 to 1948